


same old story, brand new book

by sasireun



Category: iKON (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 18:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3420443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasireun/pseuds/sasireun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobby constantly borrows books at random just so he can talk to Donghyuk, the cute librarian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	same old story, brand new book

**Author's Note:**

  * For [awkjin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkjin/gifts).



> thank you so much to my darling [shrew](http://archiveofourown.org/users/shrdmdnssftw/pseuds/shrdmdnssftw) for the beta <3 this whole fic is [deedee](http://archiveofourown.org/users/awkjin/pseuds/awkjin)'s fault and this is for her <3 ;3; also thanks to [ted](http://archiveofourown.org/users/39smooth/pseuds/shikae) and [kat](http://supremekoi.livejournal.com) for talking to me about scenes and shit even though you guys have probably forgotten bc it's been forever since i started planning this.

“No,” Jinhwan says, and his tone is flat. Bobby lets out a whine, but Jinhwan’s gaze is set firmly on the textbook in front of him, avoiding Bobby’s best kicked-puppy look entirely. Bobby looks at Hanbin, trying his hardest to plead with his eyes, but he too looks away, fingers tapping a forced rhythm out onto the table from his place on the other side of Jinhwan.

“We are _not_ going to the library with you just so you can ogle at the librarian,” Jinhwan says, flipping a page, and Hanbin nods. 

Bobby lets his forehead drop to the table with a thump. “But he isn’t _just_ the librarian, he’s the _cute_ librarian.”

“Donghyuk,” Hanbin supplies helpfully, and when Bobby lifts his head to stare at him, he continues with shrug, “We’re in the same history class, and Jinhwan was his mentor in first year. You might want to start using his name if you actually want this to go somewhere.”

Jinhwan snorts. “I’m sure the first place Bobby wants to go with this is into Donghyuk’s pants.”   
Bobby pouts petulantly into the table. “I mean sure, maybe, one day, but I want to get into his heart first--” Hanbin makes a gagging sound at this, and Jinhwan snickers, “--hey I’m being serious here okay?”

Jinhwan pats Bobby’s shoulder lightly, and Bobby can’t see his face, but he knows Jinhwan is probably giving him a sympathetic look. That, or he’s rolling his eyes at him. 

“You know, Bobby, why don’t you just, I don’t know, try _talking_ to him? You know, _Hi, my name is Bobby, if you didn’t know well now you know_ ,” Jinhwan suggests.

“ _Hyung_!”

 

*

 

“Hi, my name is Bobby, if you didn’t know… well uh, now you know!” Bobby says, as brightly as he can for someone who has just stumbled into the library at the crack of dawn and with his hair styled to the current shape of his pillow. 

His voice rings out loudly in the pretty much empty library, and across the counter, Donghyuk winces just a bit, but mostly looks amused. At least, Bobby hopes the little smile on his face is more interested and entertained than mocking. Either way, it’s a very attractive smile to be rewarded with after dragging himself out of bed and across campus to officially begin his conquering of Donghyuk’s heart.

“You just passed me your library card,” Donghyuk says slowly. He’s still smiling. “So yes, I do know your name, sunbaenim. That, and Yunhyung-hyung has spoken about you before.”

Yunhyung. How could Bobby have forgotten about Yunhyung. It must have been Donghyuk’s smile, but when Bobby tears his eyes away from Donghyuk’s face, he waves absentmindedly at Yunhyung, half asleep and observing them lazily from the desk a little behind Donghyuk. Bobby makes a mental note enlist Yunhyung’s help in his endeavours to woo Donghyuk, considering they’ve known each other since highschool and have a class together this semester. Bobby will even bribe him with meat for it. 

Bobby looks back at Donghyuk, and his smile hasn’t faltered even the tiniest bit. “Hyung,” Bobby says with a wave of his hand. “You can call me hyung, Donghyuk-ah.” Bobby prays that insisting on addressing each other by their first names isn’t going too far for an introduction, but Bobby has been coming in about four times a week at ass-o’clock for the past two weeks just to catch Donghyuk on his morning shift, so he figures it isn’t _too_ weird.

“Bobby-hyung, then,” Donghyuk says, and he continues talking for a bit while Bobby zones out, too busy staring at the the way Donghyuk's lips move and enunciate the syllables, clear and with the same smile on his face. Bobby feels himself falling a little more into whatever feeling he’s been harbouring for Donghyuk over the past month or so. This introduction is going a lot better than Bobby had expected, especially since he rarely takes Jinhwan’s advice to heart.

“--and I’m glad I can finally talk a little less formally with you, especially with your recent interest in marine biology and the life cycle of deep sea nudibranches!” The sudden large words bring Bobby back to reality, and he just nods at Donghyuk with what he hopes is a knowledgeable smile on his face instead of a clueless _what the fuck_ expression to match the thoughts in his brain.

Bobby gives Donghyuk a final goodbye wave and takes his book off the counter before scurrying off to the exit so as not to make a fool out of himself. It’s only when he’s out of the doors and leaning against the wall of the stairwell leading out of the library that he looks at the book he’d borrowed in his haste to get Donghyuk to talk to him.

 _Pacific Coast Nudibranchs: A Guide to the Opisthobranchs Alaska to Baja California_.

Bobby lets his head thunk back against the wall. He’s never going to take Jinhwan’s advice again.

 

*

 

"He likes you, you know," Yunhyung says, the third time Bobby has been back to renew his book on sea slugs. Bobby is barely out the door when Yunhyung says it, and Donghyuk drops the text book he's checking out for the girl in front of the counter onto his own foot with a soft yelp.

"Hyung, please," Donghyuk mumbles, after giving the book to the girl and turning to face Yunhyung. Yunhyung has been telling him strange bits of information regarding Bobby since Bobby had started dropping by regularly during Donghyuk's usual morning shifts. Donghyuk is pretty sure that Yunhyung hasn't let a day that they've both been stationed at the librarians' counter go by without mentioning Bobby in one way or another.

 

("Did you know that he has an older brother?"

"No, hyung, I did not."

"What about that he lived in the States with his family while growing up?"

"Yes, hyung, you told me this yesterday."

"Did you know that he sleeps with a really ratty looking Winnie the Pooh plushie that has _definitely_ seen better days?"

"... Hyung how do _you_ even know these things.")

 

"It's true though," Yunhyung goes on, and Donghyuk nods as convincingly as he can. Donghyuk, no matter how flattered by Yunhyung's strange inner mind workings and projections that Bobby is interested in him, has five shelves of books to reorganise before his shift ends and no real time to dwell on attractive upperclassmen who may or may not have captured Donghyuk's attention as of late.

"Sure, Yunhyung-hyung," Donghyuk says, "If you say so it just be true." The words come out deadpan, but Yunhyung is undeterred in his Bobby-related rant of the day. Donghyuk had better stop him before they both end up having to work overtime just to finish up shelving. "With all this information you have on him that you claim was told to you willingly, are you sure it isn't him having a crush on _you_?"

Yunhyung throws one of their logbooks at him. It bounces off Donghyuk’s arm lightly and lands behind him on the counter. “Ew, Donghyuk,” Yunhyung wrinkles his nose, “No offense, but Bobby is way more your type than mine.”

“Okay, hyung,” Donghyuk says, though he can feel his face heat up just the slightest bit. Donghyuk doesn’t have a _type_ per se, but if he did… Bobby would, maybe _possibly_ be it. 

Just possibly.

… Probably.

Donghyuk can feel his face heat up even more at the thought, but Yunhyung doesn’t seem to notice, and even if he does, he continues with his 101 Bobby Facts anyway.

“Did you know he has an older brother who’s rumoured to be so good looking that girls would pass out at the sight of him?”

Donghyuk snorts at this one. “Well, as inclined as I am to tell you that that sounds like a total lie, I mean, Bobby-hyung is pretty… is attractive enough that I _can_ see a rumour like this spreading but--”

“So you _do_ find him hot!”

Donghyuk’s face is probably an embarrassing shade of red right now. It’s not his fault that the only decently pleasant conversations he’s managed to have during his early morning shifts has been with Bobby, who seems to be around more often than not these days. 

And it’s not a crime to appreciate Bobby’s bright smile greeting him most mornings. 

Donghyuk rolls his eyes at Yunhyung’s sudden burst of enthusiasm. The smile on his face looks sneaky, and Donghyuk has too many books around him to deal with any kind of mischief that Yunhyung has in mind. “I never said he was hot--”

“You said you find him _pretty_!” Donghyuk is never going to hear the end of this.

“I meant pretty _attractive_ \--”

Yunhyung just beams at him. “Hah! So you admit it!” 

“Hyung, most of this university finds Bobby attractive in one way or another, even the _staff_ members,” Donghyuk sighs. Yunhyung has a look on his face that tells Donghyuk that his brain stopped listening when the words _attractive_ and _Bobby_ left Donghyuk’s mouth.

There’s silence in the library for a moment, and the smile on Yunhyung’s face is just a little short of terrifying to Donghyuk, though he tries to smile back, still wary. Yunhyung looks like he’s about to say something again when a cough comes from their left, and Donghyuk whirls around to see the head librarian pass by them with a knowing look in her eye and a hand motioning to the shelves still needing to be reorganised. 

Donghyuk nods a little, sheepish at being caught dilly-dallying, but Yunhyung just elbows him in the side and mimes zipping his mouth closed with a thumb and forefinger. 

Donghyuk steps on his foot and shoves him quietly to the other desk. No matter what Yunhyung says about keeping his mouth shut now, Donghyuk is almost sure that Junhwe will be texting him obnoxiously about this before he even finishes his shift.

 

*

 

Bobby corners Yunhyung after their Biology lecture together, and Yunhyung lets himself get pulled into the alcove by the side of the lecture theatre's exit.

"Payment," Yunhyung says.

Bobby stares at him. "What."

"Payment," Yunhyung repeats, and he crosses his arms across his chest, "I already know that you're going to ask me to put in a good word for you so that Donghyuk will even consider your existence worthy of even his most fleeting thoughts, so let's discuss payment."

"Hey," Bobby starts. His can feel his confidence drain a little under Yunhyung's sharp gaze and smug smile. "What if I was actually going to ask _you_ out for coffee, huh?" 

Yunhyung raises his eyebrows at him and Bobby sighs. He isn't kidding anybody, let alone himself. Right now the biggest obstacle between between capturing Donghyuk's affection is probably how many bills there are in his wallet.

"Cash or food," Bobby grumbles, and the smile Yunhyung has on his face only grows wider.

 

*

 

The days pass slowly, and Donghyuk hears nothing from Junhwe, despite his growing suspicion that Yunhyung is up to something fishy behind his back. A small part of Donghyuk hopes that he’s wrong about Yunhyung’s blabbermouth, but for the most part, he knows that he can’t trust anybody, especially not after the first time he’d introduced Junhwe to Yunhyung and the two had spent 20 minutes teasing Donghyuk about matters long past since Junhwe and Donghyuk were in high school. 

Yunhyung can turn to Donghyuk with exaggeratedly-hurt eyes all he wants, but Donghyuk knows he has a right to be suspicious of anything and everything he does, especially with Bobby coming in pretty much every alternate day now.

Today, though, Donghyuk mans the counter by himself. While he and Yunhyung share the same shift a couple of times a week in the mornings, Yunhyung’s class schedule allows him more working hours in the afternoons. On slower mornings this means that Donghyuk is left to fill in the silence of being behind the librarian’s desk with his own inner musings, and today, those musings involve cursing himself for not going out to the optician and getting more disposable contacts to last him the rest of semester.

Donghyuk re-adjusts his glasses so they sit a little higher on his nose bridge and sighs. At the very least, Yunhyung isn’t here to tease him about the thick glass and thin wire frames (though Donghyuk knows that the look is pretty in season right now), and the chances of Junhwe actually making his way to the library of his own accord is as likely as Hanbin entering and winning a singing competition, which is not very likely.

The library is quiet, as it should be, and Donghyuk gets some cataloguing and data entry done, but for the most part he’s distracted by the way his glasses fit on his face. It’s been too long since he’s worn them for as long a period of time as he has this morning--they’re usually only on at night after he’s showered and taken his contacts out. It’s been a while, and he supposes it’s a good rest for his eyes, especially with weather turning colder and the air turning drier as winter sets in.

Donghyuk is pushing the frames up by their nose-piece when the door swings open a little noisier than usual, and Donghyuk suddenly feels overly conscious about his glasses. That, and he’s come to associate loud door openings with only one person as of late.

Sure enough, when Donghyuk lifts his eyes to look over the edge of the counter, Bobby stands by the library entryway, eyes scanning across the room before they settle on Donghyuk. His eyes seem to widen, and Donghyuk is about to wave, but Bobby breaks their split second staring contest by suddenly shutting his eyes and shaking his head before scurrying over to a corner of the library. It’s strange, but then again it’s _Bobby_ , and Donghyuk finds himself smiling at Bobby’s actions. 

Maybe his morning won’t be too quiet after all.

 

*

 

“Good morning, hyung,” Donghyuk says, when Bobby finally musters up the courage to walk up to the counter. Donghyuk is wearing _glasses_ , and Bobby feels a little hot under his collar. He looks good, _more_ than good, and Bobby has spent the last half an hour staring at the way the frames slip down Donghyuk’s nose as he goes about his work. It’s almost as if Bobby is suddenly entranced each time Donghyuk moves his hands to push the glasses higher on his face.

Bobby really doesn’t know whether he wants to see them on Donghyuk forever just so Bobby can stare at Donghyuk with glasses, or reach out to slip them off so that Bobby can kiss him. Or something. In the future, maybe--hopefully. Bobby is really hoping that a day like that comes at some point, and soon, especially with his wallet getting thinner from buying Yunhyung whatever he wants for lunch every other day.

 _Good morning indeed_ , Bobby’s brain supplies sluggishly. “You’re wearing glasses,” is what comes out of his mouth instead, and Bobby would mentally kick himself if he weren’t distracted by the way Donghyuk’s hands move to touch the frames again, looking sheepish. Bobby hopes he hasn’t made Donghyuk uncomfortable at the mention of them.

“I am,” Donghyuk says, “I forgot to go out and get more pairs of my contacts.” He takes the book Bobby had randomly grabbed from the shelf, wiggling it out of Bobby’s hands gently before Bobby even realises that he’d been gripping it tight. It’s like Bobby’s whole body isn’t functioning this morning and he probably looks like an idiot, but Donghyuk just smiles up at him, dimples appearing for the briefest of moments, and coupled with the glasses, Bobby is dumbstruck.

“They look really good on you, Donghyuk,” Bobby says, finally. _And I mean_ really _good_. “You should consider wearing them more often, give your eyes a rest from the contacts or something.”

Donghyuk flips open the cover of Bobby’s book and scans the barcode, motions practiced and meticulous from hours clocked at work. He looks up at Bobby, looking comfortable and cozy in his grey sweatervest and red librarian tag lanyard tucked under his neatly-pressed shirt collar. Bobby doesn’t want to admit it, but he probably is more than a little smitten. 

“I was just thinking about that, actually,” Donghyuk tells him, and Bobby watches him brush a bit of stray hair behind his ear, tucking it behind one leg of the glasses frame. “I mean, it’s going to be winter soon, and my contacts always dry out faster in the colder seasons anyway.”

Bobby smiles the most agreeable smile that he can. “Yeah, see? You can save some money without having to get more pairs of contacts for now, and the glasses suit you.” They’re round, a simple pair that perches well on Donghyuk’s nose bridge, and they just seem to fit. 

Donghyuk smiles at him, and Bobby feels his heart flip about in his chest. God, the combination of Donghyuk’s smile and his glasses is pretty much lethal, at least to Bobby. There should be a law against that or something, because Bobby’s breath is caught in his throat and he hopes that he won’t be caught staring too hard at the curve of Donghyuk’s lips.

“Thanks, hyung,” Donghyuk goes on, and Bobby’s eyes snap back to look at Donghyuk’s eyes, only to see them crinkle at the corners with his smile. “I was a little worried that you didn’t recognise me with them on, what with you practically sprinting away when I waved at you earlier.”

 _Shit_ , Bobby thinks. Donghyuk is more observant than he’d thought. 

“Yeah, no,” Bobby says, before cursing himself because nobody should ever be allowed to communicate in oxymorons, let alone attempt to flirt with them. “I mean, I was just. Thinking really hard about the title of my book because I didn’t want to forget it.” _Phew._

“Oh, what’s the title of it? I don’t even know what you’re interested in these days hyung, it’s like you study everything!”

Bobby laughs a little, and tries not to show how much he actually feels like he’s sweating underneath his collar because he has no idea what book he’d picked up while he was busy making eyes at Donghyuk from across the library floor. “Haha, it’s. It’s um. This.” _Smooth, Bobby, so smooth_. Bobby places his book on the counter and hopes that he hadn’t wandered into the romance fiction section of the library when he’d gone to grab a book to bring to the counter in order to justify a conversation with Donghyuk.

Donghyuk peers down at the title and hums a little before scanning the barcode on the back of the book. He looks up when he passes the book back to Bobby over the counter. “Are you a med student, hyung?”

“What?” Bobby says, a little too loud on such a quiet morning in the library, and Bobby can almost feel the burn of the head librarian’s glare from across the room as Donghyuk shushes him with a barely hidden laugh.

 “I mean,” Bobby continues, hopefully more eloquently, “I just. Find these things cool. Just some light reading, you know.”

Donghyuk eyes him with an eyebrow raised. Bobby can name the look only with the word _suspicious_. If Donghyuk wasn’t onto him before, he definitely is now. “This is a record on the changing protocols of clinical trial procedures over the past three decades, hyung.”

“I know that!” Bobby yelps, still too loud, “An uncle of mine was a patient involved in clinical trials for some drugs a few years ago and stuff.”

Donghyuk seems a little bit appeased by this response, though the look on his face still seems considerably amused. “That’s cool, Bobby-hyung. In Korea?”

“No, in the States.” It’s not a complete lie, Bobby does have a lot of family there. Just not any of them who have been involved in potentially risky clinical trials. 

Donghyuk nods, and the way that he leans his hip against the counter is incredibly attractive. “That’s right, Yunhyung-hyung mentioned that you grew up there.”

“Yunhyung’s spoken to you about me before?” Bobby’s faith in Yunhyung is restored with this one line from Donghyuk. He should have known that Yunhyung wouldn’t let him down. Now the emptiness of his wallet is totally fine with him as long as Donghyuk is thinking good thoughts about Bobby in some way or another. 

Donghyuk suddenly looks a little bit flustered, and Bobby isn’t too sure if it’s just the lighting or if Donghyuk’s cheeks look the slighted bit pink. “Yeah, I mean, Yunhyung-hyung just talks about your friendship sometimes. Othertimes he seems to think that telling me ‘A Hundred and One Fun Facts about Bobby’ is all we should talk about at any given time while we’re on duty together.”

“Don’t believe anything he says about me.” Bobby is going to murder Yunhyung in his sleep. 

Donghyuk suddenly looks less wary and a lot more mischievous. “It’s okay, hyung, if I didn’t _want_ to hear about you, I would have told Yunhyung-hyung that ages ago.”

“You want to hear about me?” This is outright flirting now, Bobby can feel it, and while he’s been ready for this since before Donghyuk had even known his name, the fact that Donghyuk is the one initiating comes as a shock. Donghyuk making this conversation more than what it could be makes Bobby’s heart thunder in his ears. 

“I don’t know much about you, hyung, but I’d like to,” Donghyuk says, and Bobby wants to lean over the counter and kiss him right then and there, glasses pressing into his face and all. 

Bobby smiles at Donghyuk this time, and hopes to god that his face isn’t doing the thing that turns his smiles from simple happy ones into ones that Jinhwan and Hanbin claim are entirely lecherous and inappropriate to be aimed at anyone or anything other than Bobby’s bathroom mirror.

“Maybe we could make some time for each other, then,” Bobby says, and he tries his best not to show all the excitement just waiting to burst out of him.

 

*

 

Donghyuk fidgets, almost nervous every time he looks up at the door. He’d woken up late this morning, rushed to the library with barely a minute to go before the start of his shift, and he’s sure that his hair is still sleep rumpled and out of shape considering he had no time to style it. He doesn’t care too much about his own looks, not normally, but on a regular morning on a day when Donghyuk knows Bobby is going to show up and check out another book that’s probably unrelated to his supposed major or five, Donghyuk feels pretty conscious about what he looks like.

It’s not that there’s something that big going on between them, not since Donghyuk had almost messed up talking about Yunhyung talking about Bobby, but a quick save that had resulted in an unplanned pick up line of sorts has lead to Bobby reciprocating in a way that Donghyuk could have never imagined would happen.

He doesn’t know the extent of his own feelings for Bobby, not just yet, but the interest in there, and by the way that Bobby has taken his books from Donghyuk differently, fingers brushing and eyes full of intent, Donghyuk knows the interest is there for Bobby too.

The door to the library swings open loudly, and the bang it makes from being thrown against the wall by the added winter wind startles Donghyuk. He looks up, expecting it to be Bobby, smile ready on his face, but when he sees who it really is, the smile turns into a scowl.

“The world must be ending for you to even step foot in here without Jinhwan-hyung breathing down your neck about your grades,” Donghyuk says, deadpan, and Junhwe snorts. He’s bundled up well, the chill having hit their campus and the surrounding suburbs a lot harder this year, but Donghyuk knows that the bags under Junhwe’s eyes are more likely to be from watching porn into the night and not from actually studying for finals.

“I’m here for a favour from my most favourite person ever,” Junhwe drawls, leaning heavily over the counter, and Donghyuk takes a step back and crosses his arms before replying. “Yunhyung hyung isn’t here right now, come back later.”

Junhwe reaches over in an attempt to flick Donghyuk in the forehead with a thumb and finger, but Donghyuk dodges it easily with the counter between them. “I’m hurt, Donghyuk, I thought our friendship meant more to you than this! And don’t lie to me about Yunhyung-hyung not being here, I texted him earlier but he said he’d be napping in the quiet room behind the stacks.”

Donghyuk purses his lips slightly. So that’s where Yunhyung had gone to instead of helping Donghyuk reorganise the biology section. “What do you want,” he says finally, to Junhwe, because no matter how much they can seethe and scratch at each other verbally, Donghyuk is somehow still Junhwe’s friend. 

Junhwe slides a slip of paper over the counter to Donghyuk. “Help me find sources for my essay.”

Donghyuk feels a muscle in his face twitch. “Junhwe-”

“Please, Donghyuk, you’re interested in this shit anyway! And you know I don’t say please unless I really need help with something!”

Well, he’s right there. Donghyuk can count in one hand how many times Junhwe has ever said please before a request for help to make it less of a demand, and the last time Donghyuk had heard the word come out of Junhwe’s mouth was probably that one time in first year when Junhwe swiped Yunhyung’s keycard to his single dorm room and had somehow broken an entire leg off of Yunhyung’s bed.

To hear it now must mean that Junhwe is desperate, which means that Junhwe is failing this history elective, and Donghyuk sighs because he already knows that he’s going to give in. If not for Junhwe, then also for his own sanity, because Jinhwan, though no longer their mentor as he was assigned during first year, still nags them both enough that both of their mothers call him instead of Donghyuk and Junhwe whenever they need updates on both boys’ academics. 

“How many sources do you need,” Donghyuk says and he hopes that Junhwe can hear every  bit of the annoyance saturating his tone.

 

*

 

Bobby steps into the library around half an hour later than usual, having gone to actually submit an assignment to his own faculty before heading over to the library building. He sees Donghyuk at the counter as usual, though this time he’s engaged in what seems to be a very intense discussion with another boy whose name Bobby vaguely remembers as Junhwe. 

Donghyuk has a scowl on his face, and his hair is disheveled in a natural kind of windswept way. His tie is askew, and Bobby can see how he’d forgotten to tuck in his lanyard under his collar today, but he’s still as attractive to Bobby as the first day he’d realised how good looking Donghyuk was. 

Bobby watches them for a moment, Donghyuk and Junhwe look like their squabbling, what from the way that Donghyuk rolls his eyes at him, and when a girl steps up to the counter, Bobby realises that he’s still checking out books for other students as he works on whatever Junhwe is badgering him about.

It only takes Bobby about two seconds to start the short trek to the librarian’s counter then, and Donghyuk seems to notice him before he’s even halfway across the room, eyes slipping from Junhwe to stare straight at Bobby as he gets closer, and his smile is back on his face by the time Bobby reaches the counter. 

“Hey,” Bobby says, and he can feel Junhwe stare at him from two feet away, but Bobby ignores him in favour of looking at Donghyuk, who seems happy enough to see him.

“Hi, hyung,” Donghyuk chirps, and he places a short stack of books onto the counter that he then shoves over in Junhwe’s general direction. “Just hand me your book and I’ll return it to the shelf for you.”

“Thanks,” Bobby says, passing his book to Donghyuk over the counter. Junhwe’s eyes are still boring a hole into the side of Bobby’s head, though now he seems more affronted that Donghyuk’s attention has been shifted to Bobby instead of him. 

Donghyuk has his glasses on again, wearing them more often than not since that time he’d spoken to Bobby about not getting his contacts, and while the slightly rumpled look of Donghyuk’s shirt collar looks highly appealing, exposing the slight dip of his collarbones, Bobby thinks that Donghyuk would appreciate the heads up regarding his attire.

Donghyuk is handing him back his library card when Bobby tugs at his sleeve. Bobby feels like he has a lump in his throat, but he clears it quickly before speaking. “Can I just…” is all he gets out before beckoning Donghyuk closer with one hand, and Donghyuk goes willingly, standing at a slightly awkward angle over the counter.

Bobby reaches over to flip Donghyuk’s collar up. He’s seen Donghyuk do this dozens of times, especially early on in the academic year when Bobby used to tag along with Jinhwan and sleep in one of the reading counters. Bobby had noticed Donghyuk’s habits a long time before he’d realised his own attraction to him. Now Bobby tucks the lanyard around Donghyuk’s neck securely and flips his upturned collar down and over it, imagining the many times that he’s watched Donghyuk’s slender fingers go through the motions in the mornings, and the almost comparable number of times Bobby has thought of taking Donghyuk’s shirt off. 

Bobby’s fingertips skit across the base of Donghyuk’s neck lightly when he straightens his tie for him, and it takes Bobby a beat and an exhale to realise that he’d spent the entire time holding his breath. When he steps back and meets Donghyuk’s eyes, he realises that it wasn’t just him.

“I’ll see you around, Donghyuk-ah,” Bobby says, slightly breathless, and he waves with the hand holding his library card before heading out because practically undressing his potential love interest with his eyes is definitely a considerably suggestive and inappropriate thing to do in the middle of a library, especially with other people in the room _not even two feet away_ , and Bobby will probably die from the tension that he’s just created before he can come up with some way to make it up to Donghyuk.

 

*

 

It’s only when Bobby is out the door that Donghyuk lets out the breath he doesn’t even know he was holding. That was… truly _something_. He’s about to put his head in his hands when he remembers that Junhwe is still there, and when Donghyuk turns to look at him, the look on his face is ten times more smug than Donghyuk can bear to deal with while his heart is still thumping in his chest.

“Don’t even,” Donghyuk warns him, right as Junhwe opens his mouth.

Junhwe starts speaking anyway, because Junhwe has never willingly taken orders from anyone. “Holy shit, man. What even was that?”

“Don’t start shit, Junhwe, I swear to god--”

“He _totally_ wants in your pants, Donghyuk!” Junhwe pretty much exclaims, never ever using his inside voice when he can wreak havoc with it instead, and the squawk Donghyuk lets out in order to drown out the sound of Junhwe’s words is loud enough to warner a strong clearing of throat from the head librarian from her corner of the library. 

Donghyuk just wants to crawl into a hole. Preferably after he sacrifices Junhwe to the wrath of Jinhwan. 

“So what’s going on, huh? Why haven’t you told me about your little lover boy?” Junhwe demands, and he leans in closer as if to inspect Donghyuk’s face, as if it’s written there that there is something going on between him and Bobby. “Don’t lie to me now, Donghyuk, he’s totally your type.”

Donghyuk pushes his glasses up and pinches at his nose bridge, then looks straight into Junhwe’s eyes as he grabs the pile of books he’d shoved at Junhwe earlier and places them under the counter top, gaze unwavering as he rips up the Post-It of list of books and additional readings he’d just compiled for Junhwe.

“Ugh,” Junhwe gripes, “You’re always so vengeful towards me.” Donghyuk tunes him out easily, considering how often he does this in order to escape from at least half the amount of Junhwe talking about himself. 

Junhwe trudges away, probably to find Yunhyung to get his help instead, but he turns around to call out to Donghyuk even on his way there. “I know you just did all of that that because I’m right, okay!”

Donghyuk knows that he likes Bobby probably as much as Bobby likes him, but he’d rather keep that knowledge to himself lest the whole library starts speculating things about their non-replationship before he and bobby have even figured things out--if there even _are_ things to figure out . With a sigh, Donghyuk lets his head fall to the table and wonders how long he can attempt to disappear into the crook of his own elbow before the head librarian threatens to cut his already meagre pay.

 

*

 

Bobby wonders if Donghyuk would be skittish around him after The Incident (as dubbed by Yunhyung, who’d heard about _everything_ as told by Junhwe on the day itself), but the truth is he hasn’t spoken to Donghyuk in about two weeks since finals have kicked in. That, and Bobby has been avoiding heading to the library in the morning when Donghyuk has his shifts, considering Bobby has been waking up to decipher dreams that he only remembers fragments of: smiles accompanying hands on shoulders and threaded fingers, but also snatches of loosened ties and buttons undone and Donghyuk’s lips red from kisses. 

It’s hard enough for Bobby to get his own workload out of the way and keep up with his deadlines, but the added guilt he feels whenever he jerks off in the shower to destress and accidentally thinks of Donghyuk’s smile no matter how much he wills himself not to just takes a toll both on his libido and his mind. 

“You’re being ridiculous,” Jinhwan tells him, a few days after when Bobby is still moping arounfd or no good reason. They’re in Jinhwan and Hanbin’s shared suite, and Jinhwan is at the desk with Hanbin on his left and his new mentee Chanwoo on his right, Bobby sprawled out on the bed next to them. Bobby has to stop himself from throwing a pillow at them in annoyance. Jinhwan just continues talking. “Donghyuk is one of the nices and sweetest juniors I could have ever had the chance to mentor and tutor, so you’d better not fuck things up with him, Bobby.”

Bobby just looks at him with the saddest expression he can muster, and Hanbin reaches over to give his head a gentle pat before Jinhwan shoves Hanbin’s arm away with a roll of his eyes. “Stop babying him, Hanbin. You yourself know for a fact that Donghyuk is _this close_ to practically imprinting on Bobby like a baby animal with how much Donghyuk likes him.”

Bobby eyes the tiny inch of space between Jinhwan’s thumb and index finger, held up for emphasis of how seemingly close Jinhwan thinks Bobby and Donghyuk are to reaching some kind of breaking point in their not-quite-there relationship. He sighs again, and this time Jinhwan sighs too, right before both Hanbin and Jinhwan have their hands in Bobby’s hair, ruffling (on Hanbin’s part) and tugging (definitely on Jinhwan’s part) in comfort. Chanwoo, the new baby out of all of their friends, make an awkward sound of vague understanding in his throat, and Bobby reaches out to pat his knee for his effort.

“Really though, hyung,” Hanbin says to him, and Bobby stares at him though his too-long fringe. “We know, Yunhyung and Junhwe know, hell, even _Chanwoo_ knows, and most of the library probably knows about how much you like each other. What’s stopping you from making your move now that Donghyuk has set the ball rolling?”

The truth is, there’s absolutely nothing from stopping Bobby from just going up to Donghyuk and asking him out. Well, absolutely nothing other than Bobby’s teeny tiny fear of being rejected. He knows he isn’t subtle about things, and that Donghyuk has responded well enough to Bobby appearing so often while Donghyuk has been on shift, but he still doesn’t know if Donghyuk flirting with him is anything _more_ than just casual flirting, and Bobby doesn’t like to be anything other than 100% about things.

“I don’t know, guys, I don’t think I’ve even spoken to him anywhere other than _in_ the library.” Bobby looks down at his lap after that and frowns harder, wincing when Jinhwan tugs again before Bobby reaches up to swat all of their hands away.

Jinhwan pokes a finger into Bobby’s cheek before flicking his nose. “And that should give you enough of a reason to go up to him and ask him _out_.”

 

*

 

There’s a loud _bang!_ followed by a sequence of thumping noises, and Donghyuk looks up from his filing to see a small group of students run past his place at the counter and out the door. They’ve got to be freshman, since Donghyuk doesn’t recognise them, and they sure as hell don’t respect him as the librarian considering they’ve just knocked over the re-shelving cart filled with books that Donghyuk had collected from around the study area the hour before.

It’s 15 minutes to closing time, there’s nobody left in the library and Donghyuk is the only librarian on duty since he’d signed up to take over Yunhyung’s usual Friday afternoon shift at the last minute when Yunhyung had told him that his sister was visiting for the weekend.

 _Well, crap_ , Donghyuk thinks, as he walks over to the mess. He’s glad that didn’t arrange the books in order on the cart, because it would be an even bigger pain in the ass if he had gone through all the effort only to literally have it all come crashing down.

He’s just reaching for the book closest to the cart when the library doors swing open, the cold air rushing in and causing Donghyuk to shiver before he looks over to see who it is.

“Donghyuk? What are you doing here?”

 _Bobby_. It’s probably the first time that Donghyuk has seen Bobby in the library this late; for all Donghyuk knows, Bobby usually comes by in the mornings when Donghyuk has his usual shifts. There’s a bubbling feeling in his chest as he feels his mood brightened a bit with Bobby’s appearance. It’s been a while since they’ve last had a conversation, no matter how fleeting and quiet they may be considering Donghyuk works in a library.

“Bobby hyung,” Donghyuk mumbles, before clearing his throat and repeating it. He shoves four novels onto the cart before continuing, “What are _you_ doing here?”

Bobby has snow in his hair and on his coat, and Donghyuk suddenly has the urge to get up, go over, and brush it away, but he stays put crouched down beside the cart. “I’m here to return a book,” Bobby says with a wave of his book in the air, and he sounds sheepish. “What are you doing here on a Friday afternoon, Donghyuk?”

“Took over a shift for Yunhyung-hyung. His sister is visiting.” Bobby opens his mouth again, but Donghyuk just goes on a little more. “And now I’m here next to this previously fallen cart because a few first years just knocked it over and ran off.”   
Bobby sets his book on the librarian’s counter before coming over to where Donghyuk is. “I’ll give you a hand.” 

“No, hyung, it’s okay! I’m sure you have other places to be on a Friday than in the library anyway!”

Bobby just hums and picks up a book in each hand before setting them on the racks on the cart. “On the contrary, I don’t really have anywhere else to be right now, and there isn’t anyone else I’d rather be with at this point of time either… if you get what I’m saying.”

Donghyuk feels his jaw slacken in slight shock. “Okay then,” Donghyuk says slowly, and Bobby smiles at him before setting to work on the books around them. The tip of his nose is pink from the chill, and Donghyuk sneaks glances at him while they work, only to notice that he isn’t the only one looking, Bobby looking up from the books to Donghyuk’s face every now and then too. 

Donghyuk knows then that the warmth in his chest and face isn’t from the central heating. And in that moment, Donghyuk feels the start of something properly bloom in his chest and settle in his gut, and he makes a decision to act on the feeling as soon as the opportunity arrives only with the hope that Bobby feels the same way too. 

 

*

 

With the two of them, the books get stacked up neatly back on the cart in no time, and though Bobby does get his fill of staring quite unabashedly at Donghyuk’s determined face while they’re packing up. He looks the slightest bit flustered, probably annoyed at the kids who knocked over the cart, but Donghyuk in one of his sweaters with the lanyard around his neck and his glasses perched on his face couldn’t look unattractive to Bobby even if he tried.

They don’t really chat when they’re putting the books away, and Bobby just revels in the comfortable silence and companionship until they’re done. The next thing he knows, it’s darker outside and they’re standing outside the library’s doors, with Bobby watching as Donghyuk locks up before he turns around to face Bobby with a smile.

“Thanks, hyung,” Donghyuk beams at him, and Bobby feels his heart skip in his chest. “If you’d waited to return your book next Monday, I’d probably still be in there.” His breath comes out in puffs in the cold, and Bobby wishes he was close enough to feel the warmth Donghyuk is clearly giving out. 

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Bobby says, and he feels nervous, hands clammy as he continues speaking. _It’s now or never_. “Besides, the only reason why I’ve been coming to the library so much is just to see you anyway. Um. Mainly to see you. Because I do study! I mean, uh, it’s not as if I come in so regularly to see Yunhyung, you know, I’ve seen enough of him already. You know, in class and stuff.” _Shit_. Bobby is starting to seriously question his brain to mouth filter.

Donghyuk stands before him, unmoving, and he looks cute with his ears sticking out from under the beanie he’d hastily stuffed over his head before they closed up. Bobby feels rigid in the cold and under Donghyuk’s gaze, and Donghyuk still isn’t saying anything in response to Bobby’s blabber, so he takes it as a cue leave.

“Yeah, so. I guess I’ll just? Leave?” Bobby doesn’t understand how statements in his head come out as questions from his mouth, but he turns before waiting for Donghyuk’s reply.

He doesn’t even make it a step away before a hand grabs his own and pulls him back. Bobby turns abruptly on the spot and literally doesn’t see it coming when Donghyuk leans in to kiss him on the cheek, more of a blur of his beanie in motion and the feeling of warm lips against his face. 

Bobby doesn’t know if he’s going to melt into the floor or sprout wings and soar out into the snow in that moment because _Donghyuk just kissed him_. _Donghyuk_.

Donghyuk, who is smiling at him sweetly, face close, before he moves his eyes away, looking shy. “Thanks for everything, again.” Donghyuk says, and Bobby can’t stop himself from closing the distance between them and kissing Donghyuk right then and there, right outside the doors to the stupid library that Bobby has been frequenting just to gain Donghyuk’s affections.

It’s probably not the best time to share a first kiss, probably far from it, what with them both standing in the cold, and Bobby can feel himself shiver even as he shuffles closer to Donghyuk. Still, it goes from the simple peck that Bobby had hastily thought of into something more when Donghyuk steps more into Bobby’s space, fingers curling over the knitted cords of Bobby’s giant floppy scarf, and then they’re holding each other and just kissing for a moment while Bobby’s heartbeat thunders in his ears and Donghyuk exhales shakily through his nose.

Donghyuk is pink cheeked when he pulls away from Bobby, and the loss of contact almost makes Bobby whine in sadness before he lets out a laugh at the sight of Donghyuk’s glasses all fogged up from the heat of their faces pressed so close together. Donghyuk obviously doesn’t find it as amusing, and Bobby isn’t ready for the strength behind the punch that Donghyuk lands against his shoulder, however jesting it may be, but he does let Donghyuk step in closer again to wipe his glasses clear using Bobby’s scarf. He’s adorable up close, lips reddened as a result of the kisses they’ve just shared, and Bobby is so happy riding the high of this moment between them that the line slips from his mouth before he can even think things through.

“Go out with me,” Bobby breathes, and when Donghyuk looks up from cleaning his glasses and back at him with a cheeky smile, Bobby knows he’s already smitten, and they haven’t started dating yet.

“I don’t even know what you’re majoring in,” Donghyuk teases, and Bobby feels his cheeks heat up at that, vague memories of ancient civilisations and sea slugs filling his mind for a split second before he focuses on staring at Donghyuk’s eyelashes instead. 

Bobby reaches forwards a little and takes Donghyuk’s hand into his. “You can find out,” he says, walking backwards and tugging Donghyuk along with him a few steps, “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about me over dinner.”

Donghyuk laughs but lets himself get pulled along. “Now?”

“Yes, now. I mean, if you want to go to dinner. If you want to go out. With me.” Bobby rambles.

Donghyuk just takes a few larger strides until he matches Bobby’s pace. “Yes, I do want to go out with you. And that’s a yes to dinner now too, but I get to pick the place,” Donghyuk tells him with a squeeze of his fingers and an excited smile, and then they’re walking in the melting snow hand in hand, together, and in his mind Bobby quietly thanks Jinhwan for all the stupid advice that Bobby should have taken seriously ages ago. 

Stories about attraction have been written since the start of time. It’s almost fitting that this start of _something_ would take place in a library. Just the same old story, but in a brand new book, and Bobby can’t wait to see how things play out.

**Author's Note:**

> happy 18th birthday, angel child kim donghyuk n__n this fic was started on the day before your birthday, and it has taken me this long for it to finally come to fruition.


End file.
